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The Pop Factory (TPF) is a music and media complex in Porth, Rhondda, South Wales, which gave its name to a pop music TV show of the early 2000s.
The music venue was founded by married couple Emyr Afan and Mair Afan Davies. [1]
The Pop Factory was a converted soft drinks factory, formerly belonging to the "Welsh Hills" brand (which later became "Corona"). The pop factory was situated in the Thomas and Evans building. Thomas and Evans, were both buried in the Rhondda, also owned Bronwydd House and Porth Park. It was officially opened by Tom Jones in 2000, by smashing a bottle of dandelion and burdock against its walls.
The weekly shows were first broadcast by BBC1 Wales before being picked up by HTV/ITV Wales. The show was presented by Steve Jones and Liz Fuller, with Welsh bands like Feeder, Stereophonics, Lostprophets, Kosheen and The Kennedy Soundtrack appearing. More mainstream pop acts like Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Mis-teeq and S Club 7 also appeared. [2] There was also a Welsh language show, Sesiwn Hwyr, broadcast by S4C. In 2008 the show disappeared with no official reason given and no new series have been screened, though performances from the early BBC shows have been used in BBC Four music compilations such as St David's Day at the BBC. [3]
The Pop Factory was also the studio home of local musical entrepreneur Rob Reed of Magenta fame.
In 2011 the site was bought by Valleys Kids and is used as an office, hub and live venue. [4]
Every year, TPF hosted an award ceremony, which in 2005 was focused mainly on the Welsh music scene, possibly due to the axing of The Welsh Music Awards. This did not happen in its entirety in 2006 but went back to its full Welsh format in 2007. The 2007 event was also launched in conjunction with XFM Wales.
Stereophonics are a Welsh rock band formed in 1992 in the village of Cwmaman in the Cynon Valley. The band consists of Kelly Jones, Richard Jones, Adam Zindani, Jamie Morrison and touring member Tony Kirkham (keyboards). The group previously included Stuart Cable (1992–2003) and then Javier Weyler (2004–2012) on drums. Stereophonics have released twelve studio albums, including eight UK number one albums. A successful compilation album, Decade in the Sun, was released in November 2008 and charted at number two on the UK Albums chart.
The Music of Wales, particularly singing, is a significant part of Welsh national identity, and the country is traditionally referred to as "the land of song".
Lostprophets were a Welsh rock band from Pontypridd, formed in 1997 by singer Ian Watkins and guitarist Lee Gaze. The group was founded after their former band Fleshbind broke up. They later recruited Mike Lewis on guitars, Stuart Richardson on bass and Mike Chiplin on drums.
Start Something is the second studio album by the Welsh rock band Lostprophets, released on 2 February 2004 through Visible Noise in the United Kingdom and South Korea. The album was released internationally on 5 February 2004 through Columbia. The band began work on the album in 2003 after touring for support of their previous album, The Fake Sound of Progress. This is the second and last album featuring the original drummer Mike Chiplin.
This is a summary of 2005 in music in the United Kingdom.
Richard James Oliver, formerly known as Jamie Oliver, is a Welsh artist, fitness instructor and former musician. He is known as the former keyboardist of No Devotion and former keyboardist, turntablist and supporting vocalist for the Welsh rock band Lostprophets. Oliver quit the music industry in 2017 in order to focus on his art career.
Kelly Jones is a Welsh musician and a founding member, lead singer, and guitarist of the rock band Stereophonics.
Stuart James Cable was a Welsh rock drummer and broadcaster, best known as the original drummer for the band Stereophonics.
Ian David Karslake Watkins is a Welsh former singer who was best known as the lead singer and frontman of the rock band Lostprophets. His career ended after he was sentenced to 29 years' imprisonment in 2013 for multiple sex offences, including the sexual assault of young children and infants, and the possession of "extreme" child and animal pornographic material, a sentence later increased by ten months for having a mobile phone in prison. His bandmates disbanded Lostprophets shortly after his conviction and formed No Devotion with American singer Geoff Rickly.
Sandfields is a mainly residential district of Port Talbot, Wales. The area is located in South Wales on a narrow coastal plain between Mynydd Dinas and the sea. The M4 motorway, A48 trunk road and South Wales Main Line run nearby. The area includes a council estate, industrial areas and a seaside resort at Aberavon Beach.
The music of Cardiff has been dominated mainly by rock music since the early 1990s with later trends developing towards more extreme styles of the genre such as heavy metal and metalcore music. It, along with the nearby music scene in Newport, has brought a number of musicians to perform or begin their careers in South Wales.
Anweledig are a band from Blaenau Ffestiniog, Wales; their style is a mixture of funk, reggae, ska and rock. The band consists of Ceri Cunnington (vocals), Gai Toms (guitar/vocals), Iwan 'Oz' Jones (guitar), Rhys Roberts, Alwyn Evans (drums), Joe Buckley (keyboard), Edwin Humphreys (saxophone), Barri Gwilliam (trumpet) and Arwel Davies (trombone).
The Enemy are an English indie rock band formed in Coventry in 2006. The band's debut album We'll Live and Die in These Towns (2007) went straight to Number 1 in the UK Albums Chart on release. Their second album Music for the People (2008) went to Number 2 on the UK Albums Chart. Streets in the Sky, their third studio album, was released on 21 May 2012 and was also their third UK top 10 album. Their fourth studio album, It's Automatic, was released on 9 October 2015. After disbanding in 2016, the band reunited in 2022 for two reunion shows in their hometown of Coventry and a UK tour.
Endaf Emlyn is a Welsh musician and film and television director.
Sibrydion are a band based in Cardiff, originally from Waunfawr in north Wales, formed by brothers Osian (keyboards) and Meilir Gwynedd, formerly in the band Big Leaves.
The Kerrang! Awards was an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine Kerrang! and focusing primarily on rock music. The annual awards featured performances by prominent artists, and some of the awards of more popular interest are presented in a televised ceremony.
Owain Elis James is a Welsh comedian, broadcaster and actor. James is known as a stand-up comedian and for his weekly radio show and podcast for BBC Radio 5 Live, his football punditry and presenting, and his TV acting roles. James's first language is Welsh and he performs stand-up in English and Welsh.
Cool Cymru was a Welsh cultural movement in music and independent film in the 1990s and 2000s, led by the popularity of bands such as Catatonia, Stereophonics and Manic Street Preachers.
Welsh pop and rock music is popular music of Wales produced commercially in Wales.